


Watching Your Six

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Feels, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-25 22:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1665185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"When Steve threw himself into some violently dangerous situation, which he did at least once a week because the man's self-preservation instincts had apparently short-circuited in infancy, no one huddled around Danny to assure him his partner wouldn't get himself killed. Instead, they seemed to take it for granted that Steve had magical SEAL superpowers that would constantly save him from his immense stupidity"</em>
</p><p>000</p><p>Danny and Steve worry about each other all the time. One of these days, they're going to figure out what that means.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [由我守着你](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10784271) by [3226629](https://archiveofourown.org/users/3226629/pseuds/3226629), [stillexploring](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillexploring/pseuds/stillexploring)



> This is the beginning of the series/universe that includes my ["Swimming Home"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1605788) and ["Sleep Aids,"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1654823) but I posted those first because until now I didn't think anyone would want to read this. It's set in mid-season 4, before we were told that Amber was at all long term (for the purposes of this fic, they just went on a date or two). Also, Malia and Billy are still alive, because I'm powerless against Chin and Catherine's sad faces.

"No. Absolutely not."

Danny folded his arms across his chest and gave Steve the "Are you kidding me?" look specifically designed for those moments when his partner felt he was the only one capable of taking on any kind of physical danger. He actually had several different versions of the "Are you kidding me?" look, almost all of them meant for Steve. "Do I actually have to tell you how ridiculous you're being, or can you read it well enough on my face?"

Steve matched his pose, clearly digging in. "I should be the one going in. There's a base close by, and now that Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been repealed there's no reason for a serviceman not to let off a little steam. That's close enough to a tourist."

"If by close you mean 'not at all,' then yes." Already feeling restricted by the few seconds his arms had been forced to be still, Danny unfolded his arms again and started gesturing. "And even in a world where this guy might suddenly change his pattern like that when there are hundreds if not thousands of tourists flooding the island at any moment, our suspect is definitely a local. This is a problem for two reasons. One, you are screamingly obvious, and the most immediately recognizable out of the four of us. Two, you are _also_ a local, which means you still won't work even if this guy somehow doesn't recognize you. When you accidentally make some sort of reference that every local knows, he'll be able to pick up on it."

Three dead tourists, all of them gay, had spurred enough talk of a serial killer that the governor had panicked and called the team in. The news media had already dubbed him the "Kitty Kat Killer," named after the gay club the first victim had disappeared from. By some miracle they still didn't know 5-0 was on the case, but once they did any undercover opportunities would be completely shot.

Steve's jaw tightened, a clear sign that he knew Danny was right. As usual, though, that didn't mean he was willing to do the sensible thing and give in. "Then neither of us should go in. You're just as much a local as I am, now."

Danny shook his head. "No. The fact that I have been here a few years means I _understand_ what you people are saying, not that I speak the language. For example, the only time in my life I've ever said the word 'brah' was in reference to women's undergarments, which is right and good and sensible."

There was a small sound from Kono that might have been a chuckle, quickly repressed. Steve turned just enough to glare at her, which was apparently Chin's cue to finally provide some backup in the sanity department. "He's right, Steve. You and I are so used to the island's cultural shorthand that we could slip up and not even recognize it. Danny won't have that problem."

"Not to mention the fact that I actually have an accent that makes it _clear_ I was born and raised somewhere other than Hawaii. Even if he does recognize me, I might still be out-of-town enough to catch his attention anyway." He thickened his Jersey accent slightly for just a moment, restoring the edges the last few years had worn off.  "Now, should we actually get to work _catching_ this bad guy, or do you have another stupid argument we should waste time shooting down?"

His eyes flashed, but he turned his attention to Chin. "We can have Billy do it."

"Really? You're really going to make that suggestion with a straight face?" Feeling his own frustration rise, Danny crossed the distance between them and whacked Steve on the arm. "Let me know when you're going to suggest that to Catherine, so I can be there when she kicks your ass. I'll bring popcorn."

Something sad flickered across Steve's face for a moment, making Danny immediately feel guilty. They hadn't talked about it, but it was clear that there was a distance between Steve and Catherine there hadn't been before. It was bad enough that Danny had stopped telling him he'd been an idiot for letting her take the job in the first place. At this point, it was just rubbing salt into the wound.

He still wasn't entirely sure why he'd started in the first place, except for the fact that it was Steve. Danny always seemed to care way too much about anything that had to do with his partner.

"Seriously, I'll be fine." Danny gentled his voice as he gripped Steve's shoulder.  "Remember, all I've got to do is get close enough to grab a DNA sample we can match with what we pulled from the second victim. Even if we find the guy, I probably won't have to talk to him for more than a few minutes."

"Even if he did, It's not this guy's M.O. to try anything at the club," Chin added,  clearly trying to soothe.

Kono lightly touched Steve's other arm. "It's the best idea we've got, Boss."

Distantly, Danny wondered if he should be a lot more pissed off about this. When Steve threw himself into some violently dangerous situation, which he did at least once a week because the man's self-preservation instincts had apparently short circuited in infancy, no one huddled around Danny to assure him his partner wouldn't get himself killed. Instead, they seemed to take it for granted that Steve had magical SEAL superpowers that would constantly save him from his immense stupidity. The only obvious side effect of Steve's near constant brushes with death were Danny's rants, the better to hide his less-obvious racing heart, twisting gut and the occasional nightmare he would never admit to.

But then Steve looked at him, the determination in his eyes not quite enough to hide the worry, and he gave in the same way he always did. "Besides, it's not like you won't be in the club with me. If you need to, you can swoop in and play jealous boyfriend once we've got what we need."

Under Danny's hand, Steve's muscles relaxed ever so slightly. "And you'll be armed."

"Of course I'll be armed. What kind of club-hopping tourist do you take me for?"


	2. Distraction

Though the music thumping out of the club's speakers made any kind of pointed commentary nearly impossible, Steve thought he could read the look Chin was shooting him pretty clearly. Knowing the other man was right and hating it, Steve shifted around to face the bar enough that he could only see Danny out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have a lot of experience with undercover surveillance – you didn't have to worry about pretending to be someone else in the jungle – but it turned out he hated it with a passion.

He'd hate it less if Danny was sitting next to him instead of at a smaller bar area on the opposite side of the room, fending off the advances of some muscle-bound idiot who couldn't take no for an answer. Being Danny, he was doing a pretty good job with the fending – Steve couldn't stop his smirk at the sudden shuffle that he'd bet money was a good old-fashioned shoulder-lock – but that didn't improve Steve's mood much. If there was danger, they were supposed to go into it together.

The gym-rat did a quick fade, but a shorter guy was there to take his place in under a minute. He leaned closer, clearly flirting a little, and Danny shot the guy the exact same smile Steve had seen him use on everyone from Gabby to attractive waitresses over the last few years. His partner was good at flirting, transitioning his skills over to men without a moment of hesitation, and every time he saw it Steve was angry for no reason he could explain. He deliberately ignored the feeling, letting it get lost in all the other tension thrumming through him.

All of that was forgotten, however, when Mossman, their suspect, sidled up to the short guy’s other side and said something that made him disappear in a hurry. When he moved closer, filling in the empty space enough that he was almost pressed up against Danny’s side, Steve slid off his barstool and moved into a better position. Odds were that his partner wouldn’t need the backup – no matter how worried he got, he never doubted Danny’s skills for an instant – but he wanted to be ready just in case.

In the end, though, the DNA lift looked even easier for Danny than fending off the earlier guys had been. Mossman’s hand jerked back at one point, either due to the prick of the needle or some other trick of Danny’s, then his partner slid off his own stool and disappeared into the crowd. Steve let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and prepared to make his own exit.

Then he went still, realizing that Danny wasn’t going for the door. He had circled around and was heading straight for Steve, in fact, his expression making it clear he was about 30 second away from yelling at someone. Steve moved to meet him, trying to figure out whether he or the suspect was the target of his partner's wrath. Either way, they could have a nice, long argument once they got back to the car.

Once he got close enough, Danny grabbed his shirt like he wanted to start the argument here and now. Instead of yelling, however, he yanked Steve down and kissed him.

Steve's brain shut down. The awareness that had kept him alive through firefights all across the world could barely keep itself together enough to remember where they were, let alone attempt to figure out why his very straight partner was currently trying to give him a heart attack. His instincts didn't give a damn about the "why," throwing him into the kiss with a speed and ferocity that suggested they'd been waiting for a moment like this but had been careful not to tell Steve about it. Now, though, he was happy to listen to them, grabbing onto Danny like a lifeline.

It was only when Danny ripped himself away that Steve's brain came back online, full of questions and immediately offering up a dozen different ways this could end in total disaster. They stared at each other in a split second of complete and utter shock, then Danny snapped back into focus and dragged Steve back down so he could talk in his ear. "Rawlins is up on the balcony, and he's been staring at you for the last hour like you owe him money. I'm pretty sure he no longer thinks you're here for work, which means that if he still tries something on the way out he's definitely a bad guy."

Steve straightened enough to catch sight of the man Danny was talking about. They'd eliminated him as a suspect, but there was always a chance they'd been wrong. If nothing else, he was just the type to want to cause trouble.

Technically, that was an answer. It even made tactical sense – this way, they'd eliminated any innocent reason for Rawlins to follow them – and Steve knew he should find it comforting that there was a logical explanation for the last 30 seconds. It had been just another part of the mission, which meant there was no reason to even think about it as soon as they wrapped things up here.

He felt sick.

Steve nodded at Danny, already planning an exit route that would give someone from the balcony the perfect spot for an ambush. Either Rawlins would accept him as decoy and follow him right into a trap, or the man would go back to what he was doing and not give Five-O a reason to bother him at all.

Hopefully, he'd try something. Steve really needed to punch someone right now.


	3. Blame Game

The asshole couldn't even wait 30 seconds before starting to follow Steve. Danny waited until the guy had made his way down to the dance floor before moving to follow _him_ , signaling to Kono and Chin to do the same. Kono's eyes widened slightly when she caught sight of their target, but Chin didn't look at all surprised. He'd always thought the guy's alibi was sketchy.

And thinking about all of that was a hell of a lot easier than listening to the little voice screaming in the back of his head. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it he kept getting snatches, and it was distressingly easy to fill in all the missing bits.

 _You could have happily gone the rest of your life not knowing what it was like to kiss Steve McGarrett, you idiot! And with tongue? Yes, that was the best kiss you've had in pretty much your entire life, but that only makes things worse! Apparently, we're gay now, at least as far as our incredibly straight partner is concerned! Did we really need to know that? No! We could have happily gone the next 30 or 40 years without knowing that!  But thanks to you, moron, we know! We can't ever_ not _know! What in the holy hell did you think you were doing?_

All in all, he much preferred following Rawlins in the men's bathroom, catching him just as he was about to bust open the stall Steve had gone into. He yanked him back just as Steve went over the top of the door and attacked him from above, and after a brief round of punching Chin and Kono held their guns on him while Danny dealt with the handcuffs. Steve picked up the knife that had clattered to the floor, holding it up for inspection.

Chin nodded. "We'll need the lab to run it to be sure, but it looks like it could be a match to the stab wounds on the victims."

They dragged Rawlins back to a holding cell, mostly without speaking. Chin and Kono followed their lead, clearly picking up on the sudden tension between them (or speechless over whatever they'd seen of the kiss, but he didn't want to think about that part). Steve was clearly pissed about something – as if Danny didn't know what it was, hah – and it didn't take long for him to work up his own head of steam about the mess they'd gotten themselves in to. If Steve had been watching his own six for five damn minutes instead of worrying about his perfectly competent partner, then _he_ would have picked up on Rawlins without Danny needing to do anything at all. So really, in a way, the kiss was _his_ fault.

In a lot of ways, really. At the time he’d thought that Rachel and Stan dragging Grace to Hawaii had been the thing that radically altered his life, but that paled in comparison to holding a gun on Steve McGarrett and getting hijacked into being his partner. _That_ had been the point of no return, though it had taken him a year to accept the fact that he was never leaving the island of his own free will. Steve clearly couldn’t be trusted on his own, and the thought of something happening to the idiot while Danny gone was more than enough to lock his feet to the ground.

The more Steve blew past his defenses, the more Danny worried about him. The more he worried, the harder he held on. The harder he held on, the more of himself he handed over to Steve. It was a vicious cycle, and though he thought he'd already slammed into the brick wall on the other side the universe was enough of an asshole to push him down even _further_. There was theoretically no _end_ now to how sunk he could end up being, and the kiss pretty much laughed in the face of his fervent hope that some woman might be able to come along and pull him out.

And the worst part? The bastard clearly had no clue what he’d done to him.

It was a small blessing that they’d driven here separately. Danny escaped out to his car the moment everything was settled, planning to spend the few hours left until daylight pacing in the privacy of his own home. He'd already abandoned any hope of sleeping, but at least this way no one would ask him what was wrong.

When he turned around, though, he realized Steve had followed him out. Danny braced, ready for a fight, but Steve didn't look angry anymore. He just looked miserable. "Listen...."

Danny closed his eyes. The best-case scenario for this conversation would be a bunch of questions he didn't dare answer. The worst-case scenario would be that Steve would oh-so-gently explain that he wanted them to still be friends. As if a sudden bout of extremely inconvenient arousal had any effect on the fact that he'd probably loved Steve McGarrett for longer than he cared to think about. As if knowing there was no chance would be enough to make him stop.

"It's okay, Steve." Danny's voice was a wreck, and he didn't dare look his partner in the eye. "I just need some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Steve didn't stop him as Danny got into his car and headed for the nearest liquor store. Maybe if he got drunk enough, he could forget the last few hours had happened at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Danny is describing himself inaccurately, but the boy tends to think in extremes and I don't think "bisexual" has entered his vocabulary just yet. That'll take some time with Google. :)


	4. Simple

Steve focused on the rhythmic slap of his feet against the pavement, the air pushing in and out of his lungs, and the easy burn of muscles that knew how to work. When it was too dark to swim safely this was the closest thing he had to meditation, a reliable source of peace no matter what was happening in the rest of his life.

Tonight, it wasn't working.

Things had been going so good, too. Rachel was legally required to keep Grace on the island, which meant both he and Danny could stop worrying that she'd leave one day and drag her father with her. He'd accepted the fact that he had to share Danny, and while he certainly wasn't shedding any tears that Gabby had left the island without an "I love you" he knew someone else would show up to take her place. One day, a woman would come along who'd help Danny overcome his wedding phobia, and Steve had planned on standing next to him at the altar.

The thought was enough of a punch in the gut to make his steps falter. He stopped, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes as he fought to get his emotions back in line. He had to stop thinking about the kiss, about the world of possibility that had suddenly opened up in front of him for a few precious seconds. He'd _wanted_ it, even though he'd never even conceived of it being an option before. He wanted to hold onto Danny like that, to see if a really good kiss would make him make that little sound that always meant he was pleased about something. He wanted to take Danny home, to see if he was a bed hog and listen to him complain about the waves and fill up every corner of Steve's life from now until the end of forever. He wanted it so badly he could taste it, the same way he could still taste Danny on his tongue if he concentrated hard enough.

The look on Danny's face.... He'd been about to be kind, Steve knew. He'd already known what his partner was going to say, even though Steve himself hadn't, and every gentle, understanding word of apology would have been like a knife in Steve's heart. There's no other reason Danny would have looked so sad.

Steve opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and made himself keep running. He didn't stop again until he'd made it back to his house, surprised to see Catherine sitting on the front porch. She'd been in bed when he'd gotten home the first time, but now she was bundled up in a robe and clearly waiting for him.

He climbed up the steps, feeling guilty. "Is everything okay?"

She gave him that gentle smile that meant she was forgiving him for being an idiot. "I was about to ask you that question. Did the undercover op not go well?"

Steve looked away. "It went fine. It turns out we were going after the wrong guy, but we managed to catch right suspect anyway. We need the lab to tie up a few loose strings, but other than that we have him."

He started to head into the house, stopping when she said his name. When he turned to look at her, she gestured to the seat next to her. "No matter what else is going on between us, we've always been better friends than we were anything else. Talk to me."

Steve just looked at her for a long moment, torn between wanting to say something and knowing it wouldn't do any good. Usually, he talked to Danny about things like this. "I'm fine, really."

She raised an eyebrow. "It always amazes me how terrible you are at lying."

Giving up – it's not like he would be able to sleep – Steve sat down in the seat next to her. “I… realized something I didn’t want to realize. I’m trying to deal with it.”

Catherine watched his face. “About us?” she asked softly.

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment, looking at the woman who’d been so patient with him for so long. He’d tried so hard to be a good boyfriend, especially in the last year or so, and what had hurt the most about feeling her pull away was the knowledge that even his best efforts hadn’t been enough to hold onto somebody.

Now, though, he wondered if he hadn’t put as much into it as he thought. He’d given her as much as he had, but that hadn’t included the parts that were Danny’s.

A lot of him, he was starting to realize, was Danny’s.

Steve let out a long breath. “Sort of.” He reached over, taking her hand in his. “You’d never have left me, would you?”

Catherine looked sad as she squeezed his hand. “I’m not leaving you now. We just probably shouldn’t be a couple anymore.”

“I know.” There was an ache in his chest as he lifted her hand to his lips. “Be happy, Catherine.”

“Oh, Steve.” The words were a sigh, full of sympathy and understanding. “I don’t know what happened, but talk to Danny.”

He went still, expression suddenly careful. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Danny.”

That same smile was back. “When it comes to you, Steve, it almost always has something to do with Danny.” She kissed his knuckles. “Talk to him, please. You deserve to be happy, too.”

Steve throat tightened. “It’s not that simple.”

She squeezed his hand again. “Sometimes it is.”


	5. Wake-up Call

The universe hated him. His head, however, actively wanted him dead.

Danny opened his eyes without thinking, then squeezed them closed again when the sunlight reached out and smacked him in the face. He risked it again, only opening them to slits this time, and after a moment decided that it didn’t hurt any worse than it did with his eyes closed. Unfortunately, he was going to live.

He slowly rolled sideways, looking at the large empty bottle on the floor beside his bed with a mixture of annoyance and profound relief that Grace was at her mother’s this week. He knew he should probably be embarrassed for himself – he hadn’t tried to drink away his troubles since just after Rachel had left him, and if he remembered correctly that attempt had been just as wildly unsuccessful. At the moment, though, he was just grateful he’d managed to pass out early enough to spend at least a few hours unconscious.

Danny shifted just enough to reach for his phone, his head making violent threats against him the whole time. According to the clock he was spectacularly late for work – he’d been in no shape to re-activate the alarm last night – and a missed call from both Chin and Kono suggested that at least someone had noticed. There were no messages, though, and if there’d been a case at least one of them would have come by to beat his door down.

Any other day, “at least one of them” would have meant Steve. But he was absolutely, positively refusing to think of his partner right now, and if that meant using unnecessary euphemisms in his internal monologues than so be it.

He stared at the screen of his phone, trying to decide how brave he was feeling, then accepted the inevitable and called Kono. He still had sick days, and this way he’d have at least 24 hours to pull himself back together and pretend everything was alright.

She answered on the second ring, which was probably a bad sign, and started talking before he could even get his mouth open. “If you’re in half as bad a shape as Steve is right now, you need to come in here and fix this.”

Danny closed his eyes, chest suddenly hurting in a way that had nothing to do with his hangover. “Why are you so sure it’s my fault?”

He half expected her to say something along the lines of “We all saw the kiss, you idiot. Who’s fault do you think this could possibly be?” but what she actually said was far worse. “Because Steve looks like he knows he's bleeding internally but won't tell anyone, and you sound like you swallowed a lungful of ocean and are hiding out at home rather than yelling at him. You two argue all the time, but when there’s an _actual_ problem you both go quiet.”

He rubbed a hand across his mouth, trying very hard not to picture the look on Steve’s face. “I’m sick.”

The silence on the other end of the phone radiated disbelief. “Is that really the story you’re going to go with?”

Why the hell hadn’t he called Chin? Clearly, his judgment was far too impaired right now to be trusted with a gun. “Would you like me to cough all over you? Because I can do that.”

“Fine.” The sudden brisk practicality in her voice was its own kind of threat. “I’ll call Malia right now and have her check you out.”

Danny groaned. Malia was a wonderful woman, sweet and tough and a perfect match for Chin, but maternity leave was making her stir crazy. When you added to that the fact that carrying twins apparently put twice as much strain on an expectant mother’s hormones, it added up to a woman who had become surprisingly terrifying when you crossed her at all. “You’re a cruel, cruel woman.”

“No.” He could hear Kono sigh. “What I am is worried about the two of you.”

Danny could feel the weight of inevitability press down on him. Needing some kind of escape route, he lashed out. “So when my partner tries to throw himself into the jaws of death on a regular basis you assume I’m fine and dandy, but I’m late to work _one_ morning and suddenly you’re worried about me?”

This time, the silence on the other end of the phone was way too complicated for Danny to read. Almost immediately, he felt guilty for causing it. “Listen, I’m….”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was gentle, and for a disorienting second Danny could have sworn she’d read his mind. There were a few quiet sounds that might have been Kono shutting a door behind her. “You do such a good job I forget how tough it must be on you.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a cop if being terrified kept me from doing my job.” He winced a little at the bitterness in his own voice.

“That’s not what I meant.” She hesitated, as if deciding something, then pushed ahead. “There are so many times Adam would have given up if I hadn’t been there. When he went off on his own, I was so scared he’d let himself get lost if I wasn’t there to hold onto him.”

The weight squeezed his chest, making it hard to breathe. If only the hangover had been the worst thing to happen to him this morning. “It’s not the same thing at all.”

Kono ignored him. “I know it seems like Steve doesn’t listen to you, but I am absolutely certain that a big part of the reason he survives things like leaping into a moving helicopter is because he knows you’re waiting on the ground to shout at him. I know it’s hard, but you’re the only one who has any chance of holding onto him. Please don’t give up now.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing deep and slow so he wouldn’t do something stupid like start crying.

She took his silence as the assent it was. “He’s still in the office. I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave before you can get here.”


	6. The Talk

Steve swore he knew the exact moment when Danny walked into HQ.

He looked up just in time to see his partner walk through the main doors, heading straight for Steve's office. He froze for just a second, more nervous than he would have been in front of gunfire, then pushed himself to his feet and moved to intercept.

By the time he opened the door, though, Danny was already there, and he simply placed a hand against Steve's chest and pushed them both back into the office. As Danny closed the door behind him, Steve leaned back against the edge of his desk and folded his arms across the chest. His heart was somewhere in his throat, but he'd be damned if he'd show it.

Danny was shifting where he stood, an undetonated bomb of emotion that didn't know what direction to explode in. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his voice made it clear how bad a night he'd had. "Do you want me to say I'm sorry?"

Steve closed his eyes. the hurt slicing through him. Clearly, Catherine had been wrong about talking being a good idea.

"Don't do that to me. You do _not_ get to make that face when I'm the one having a nervous breakdown."

Steve made himself open his eyes again, the hurt translating into anger "Whatever you need to do for us to be okay again, Danny. I don't care."

"What _I_ need to do?" The temper flared in Danny's eyes. "What _I_ need to do is beat it through your thick skull that you are _not_ some kind of comic book hero, and therefore not immune to bullets, knives, 100-foot falls or anything else you _insist_ on leaping towards at a terrifyingly regular basis."

Steve blinked, startled. This was definitely not the direction he'd thought this conversation would go. "If this is about—"

"Your little stalker last night? The one that you _completely_ failed to notice?"

He still wasn't sure what was going on, but the familiar rhythm of their arguments helped him find his feet. "You're the one who we thought was going face-to-face with a serial—"

Danny cut him off again. "Maybe last night, but you don't usually have that excuse. Usually, I am huddled behind cover somewhere explaining why you are about to get yourself _killed_ , and you could not care _less_ about anything I have to say."

That made Steve straighten. "When we're in a crisis situation, I have to be ready to do what needs to be done. It's not that I don't listen to you, but we don't usually have another option."

"Don't pretend you listen to me! You don't take a second to even _consider_ another option!"

"If someone's going to be in the line of fire, it should be me!"

"We're a _team_ , you asshole! We're supposed to go into danger together!"

"It's my job to keep you safe!"

"It's not your job to break my heart!"

Steve's mind immediately blanked, his brain too overloaded to do anything but reel at the unexpected words. Danny stared at him wide-eyed, clearly having not meant to say that last part, and when he saw his expression Steve's heart started pounding. 

Danny swallowed, actually backing up a step. He stared at Steve for what seemed like a small eternity of silence, then cleared his throat. "Damn it, don't look so surprised."

Steve's body reminded him he probably should have inhaled by now. "You said you were worried about your car."

"You mean when you decided to play decoy with Mr. No-Hands last year?" Danny narrowed his eyes at him. "I was lying, you idiot. Badly. I can't believe you couldn't figure that out."

Steve rubbed a hand over his mouth, his heart so loud by this point he could feel it in his ears. "I'm not...." His voice cracked. "I'm not used to people worrying about me."

"Babe...." Danny's own voice was unsteady, his face shifting through what seemed like a dozen different expressions before settling on something open and raw. "You've got so much of me. I can’t ... I need you to be more careful."

There were a thousand things he wanted to say, _needed_ to say, but they were all crowding in his throat and the pressure in his chest meant there wasn't room for any of them. He was the one about to explode, this time, and all he could do was grab Danny's shirt and yank him forward for a kiss.

Danny was frozen for the first few seconds, and all Steve could think was that he'd made a terrible mistake. But then his partner grabbed onto him, yanking him closer, and something inside Steve unwound as he let himself fall into the heat of Danny's mouth. He deepened the kiss, the rest of the world melting away as his entire body seemed to reach out toward the man in his arms. When Danny made that familiar little noise he’d wondered about, lust and delight shot through Steve's body in equal measure.

They broke apart enough to stare at each other, neither one of them letting go. "That..." Danny swallowed. "That was not the response I'd been expecting."

Steve grinned, a burst of sun-bright happiness making him buoyant. "I've wanted to do that since last night."

Danny opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to find what he wanted to say. Then he took a deep breath. "You're serious."

Steve leaned closer. "I could show you how serious I am, if you want."

Danny's laugh was a little wild. "Maybe you should."

The kiss was slower this time, gentler, an exploration rather than a blind leap at the other person. When Danny suddenly ripped himself away, Steve knew enough to keep holding on."Shit. Catherine."

Steve's fingers curled in, tightening his grip. "We broke up last night. It had been a long time coming, and how I felt about you was the last straw."

Danny let out a breath. "Holy shit, you really are serious." There was something like wonder in his voice as he lifted his hands to cradle the sides of Steve's face. "We're really doing this."

Steve went still. He needed Danny to be absolutely sure, because if his partner changed his mind it would kill him. "Only if you're sure that's what you want."

Danny blinked, then looked at him like he was being an idiot. "You're mine, okay? I will make you get a _tattoo_ if that will make things any clearer for you."

Steve nodded, his throat suddenly tight. He’d spent his entire life trying to hold onto people who always ended up slipping through his fingers. He’d clung to Danny harder than anyone, but he’d never dared imagine his partner might be just as determined to hold onto him.

Danny nodded back. "Okay." He pressed another quick, warm kiss to Steve's lips, then pulled him down into the tightest hug he could manage. "You don't by any chance know how to be gay, do you?"

Steve huffed out a laugh against Danny's neck, arms wrapped around his partner. "No clue."

Danny mulled this over, then lifted his shoulders a little. "We'll manage."

Steve was looking forward to it.


	7. Realistic

Apparently, romantic comedies were a lot more realistic than he'd ever thought.

It was the only clear thought in Danny's head as he stared at Steve, the rest of him full of that same giddiness that he usually only experienced when he'd managed to barely avoid death. He'd come in expecting one of the top three most painfully awkward conversations of his life, possibly several more nights of making self-destructive choices in beverage, and if he was lucky a lifetime of ignoring his feelings and trying hard to convince himself it was brain damage, not love. 

Instead, he'd been kissed, more than once, by a man who apparently had some skills to back up the "Smooth Dog" moniker. A man who'd wanted to kiss him since _last night_ , as it turned out, and just to hammer the point home had broken up with his incredibly attractive girlfriend at some point in the intervening hours. 

If some sappy romantic pop song suddenly started playing in the background, he would not have been the slightest bit surprised.

"Holy shit, you really are serious." He lifted his hands to cradle the sides of Steve's face, wanting the physical contact to prove he wasn't somehow hallucinating this. "We're really doing this."

Steve's face went suddenly blank, and for a panicked instant Danny was afraid he'd said the wrong thing. "Only if you're sure that's what you want."

It took Danny a second to process the absurdity he'd just heard, but once he did his protective instincts immediately kicked in. Or maybe his territorial instincts – it was hard to tell the difference between the two, some days. "You're mine, okay? I will make you get a _tattoo_ if that will make things any clearer for you."

It was far too honest, the kind of thing only a complete idiot would say out loud, and if his brain had actually been consulted he probably would have phrased it in a way that sounded slightly less insanely possessive. But he'd never been good at hiding anything from Steve.

Steve just nodded, his entire body relaxing as if that had been exactly the right thing to say, and something tight in Danny's chest unwound all at once. "Okay." He had to kiss Steve again, just a little, then he pulled his partner down into his arms. Steve folded around him the same way he always did, his body pressed as close as their height difference would reasonably allow, and Danny's nerve endings woke up as they realized that nudity and touching were going to be in their very near future. "You don't by any chance know how to be gay, do you?"

Steve chuckled, his breath a tease against Danny's skin. "No clue."

Okay, Google was clearly going to be a big part of their lives for a little while. But he thought of Steve's hands on him, of Steve helpless and needy under his own hands, and the coil of heat in his gut told him they'd figure at least the basics out pretty quickly. "We'll manage."

Then they just held each other, soaking it all in until Danny mostly stopped expecting to wake up at some point. He knew he should probably be more freaked out by this, the fact that his sexual preference and relationship status had both made a sudden, radical change in the last 24 hours, but the truth was they hadn’t really. He’d been Steve’s for a long time now. If anything, this might actually simplify things.

That was the moment Steve’s phone chose to ring, as if the universe was reminding them that “simple” was always going to be relative when it came to their lives. Danny reluctantly made himself pull away as Steve checked who was calling. “It’s Max.” The sheer depth of regret on his face was flattering. “He’s probably got a report on our weapons match.”

“Go. Receive his wisdom.” Danny made a little shooing motion with his hands as he backed toward the door.  He didn’t want to stop looking at Steve quite yet, a reminder of how much of a complete and total sap he became when he got really stupid about someone. “I’ll see if I can diffuse the jackals outside a little before we all move ahead with our workday.”

Steve grinned at him, bright and happy, and Danny’s chest squeezed tight in a way he could properly identify now. He made himself turn around and actually leave as Steve answered the phone, a little surprised that at least Kono didn’t try to corner him the moment he stepped out the door.

In fact, they were both standing at the computer table, seemingly intent in research like it was just an average work day. Danny just watched them for a moment, hands on his belt, and tried to let himself hope that they somehow _hadn’t_ seen the little show he and Steve had just put on in his office.

His inherent cynicism, quite gently, told him not to be an idiot. “Fine, come on.” He made a “come at me” gesture.” “Let’s get this over with.”

Kono’s professional expression melted into an ear-splitting grin as she shook her head. “Danny, Danny, Danny. This is going to take _years_.”

Even Chin had given in to his “I find mortals hilarious” smile. “I hate to admit it, but she’s right.”

The headache that had been miraculously silent in Steve’s office was starting to creep back in around the edges of Danny’s consciousness. “Nothing outside the office. _Nothing_. There are about a thousand different details Steve and I need to figure out, including the best way to inform the Governor of this little development—” Damn it, he’d forgotten about that “—and since neither of us have any idea what we’re doing we’d like to not accidentally get shot in the foot by our trusted teammates.”

Both of their expressions went solemn. “Absolutely,” Chin promised.

Danny nodded, then pointed at them both. “And on top of that, remember that I have years of pranking experience and a viciously overdeveloped sense of vengeance. This will be your only warning.”

The smiles popped back into place. “Bring it on, brah,” Kono drawled in her best surfer voice, her eyes already promising trouble.

Chin’s expression, thankfully, was kinder. “Seriously, though. We’re happy for both of you.”

Kono softened at that. “Yeah. You're good together." Then the evil grin was back. "Not that I want to know _how_ good. There are some things a girl shouldn't know about her bosses."

That was the thing about family. They tormented you because they loved you. Danny sighed. “Thank you. Now, do we have the DNA back yet for Rawlins?”

Kono shook her head. “No, but we’re doing a pretty good job busting through his alibi.”

Chin slid a still from an ATM security video up onto the main screen. "I think we all remember Sarah Copeland."

"Not a pleasant memory, but yes." Rawlin's older sister, a tired, beaten-down woman who swore her brother had been at her house in Kaneohe that night fixing a sink. The repair work had clearly been done, Rawlins had a time-stamped receipt for the items, and conveniently appeared on the store's security footage to back that up. They hadn't found hard-and-fast proof that he'd actually been doing the repair at the time of the second murder, the one with the DNA match, but they also hadn't found him on any of the club's security feeds, either.

"This is from the Windward North Shore Branch of First Hawaiian Bank, not more than 10 minutes away from our second crime scene. If you'll notice the time stamp, it's also less than an hour from Max's estimated time of death."

"Which means that, once again, your infinite wisdom has proven correct," Danny acknowledged, nodding at Chin. "Anyone gone over to have a chat with Ms. Copeland?"

"We were going to go over there as soon as we were sure someone could figure out how to save Steve from himself." Kono moved close enough to press a kiss against Danny's cheek. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Hands off my man, Kalekaua." They all turned as Steve strode into the room, his command voice completely undermined by the sparkle in his eyes. And there was _no_ way the words "my man" should make Danny's stomach do a slow flip like that. He resolved to have a serious talk with it later.

"Sorry, Boss." Kono stepped back, hands upraised in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. "I didn't see a sign."

Danny lifted a finger before Steve could finish opening his mouth. "Don't even think about it, babe."

Steve's grin flashed, the wide, goofy one that made him look about 12 years old. He'd always loved that one. "I have a letterman's jacket somewhere."

"As I am not, in fact, a teenage girl, I don't think that's going to work, either." Danny shot Steve his best stern look, fighting his own urge to smile. "Now, let Kono and Chin go off and do some actual work while you tell me what Max called you about."

Steve's expression immediately went serious. "The knife matches stab wounds on all three victims, but there's a few on the third victim that are still unaccounted for. Either Rawlins experimented with a second weapon, or there's an accomplice we still don't know about."

"If Mossman was involved, it might explain a few things,” Chin said. "I'll bring the tablet, start looking for anything that might tie the two men together."

"Good. Max is taking another look at our first vic to see if there's any testable DNA we missed, but if Danny and I can find the other knife at Rawlins’ apartment it'll solve our problem before it starts."

Danny nodded, sliding easily back into the regularly scheduled crime show that his life _normally_ was.


	8. Collateral Damage

The DNA match was confirmed for Rawlins that afternoon, just after Chin and Kono finished dismantling the sister's story. Unfortunately, pinning down the second weapon was proving to be more of a challenge – nothing matching Max's specifications was at Rawlins' apartment, and Kono had confirmed that nothing like it was found near any of the crime scenes. Max had also struck out on finding any more DNA, and Chin hadn't been able to find anything that suggested Rawlins and Mossman were even casual acquaintances.

The next step was clearly spending some time in interrogation with Rawlins – they'd been in no shape to do it last night, and the charge of assaulting a police officer had been more than enough to hold him. Now, though, they needed to know for sure whether or not there was a trainee out there they'd missed.

Steve wasn't looking forward to it.

"Don't think I don't know what that face means," Danny said suddenly, interrupting the quiet. "Just because this guy saw part one of our Big Gay Non-Crisis doesn't mean it'll be any harder to terrify him."

Amused, Steve glanced over at him. "I can actually hear the capital letters when you say that."

Danny smirked. "I save the italics for when you've done something stupid." Then it disappeared, his expression shifting into the one that usually meant he was trying to see inside Steve's head. "Seriously, though. This isn't some kind of 'I can no longer be a SuperSEAL because I kissed a guy' breakdown, is it?"

"Of course not," Steve said immediately, alarmed that his partner could even think otherwise. Sure, his brain may not have let him even contemplate this specific possibility before now, but he'd always wanted as much of Danny as he'd been allowed to have. The fact that he'd been given more than he'd ever dared imagine was a miracle, not something to panic about.

He hadn't realized the other man’s shoulders were tensed until he saw them relax. "Okay then, what is it?"

Steve turned his eyes back to the road, remembering the look in the man's eyes when they'd arrested him. How thwarted he'd been. "It doesn't make sense that Rawlins came after me. Yes, I was lead on the investigation, but I didn't even notice that he was there. He should have been thrilled."

Danny considered this. "If he'd cared that much about not getting recognition, he would have tried harder to use some of the usual 'serial killer' flourishes."

"Exactly." Steve glanced over at his partner, all of the times he'd nearly lost Danny playing on a loop in the back of his mind. The thought that he might have been in danger last night from a source Steve had _completely_ missed haunted him. "But since he didn't, the only reason I can think of for trying to kill me was because he saw the way I was staring at you all night. It was obvious I wanted the same thing he did."

He could see the exact moment that the realization hit Danny. "Well, hell. Now I feel supremely creeped out." He sighed, dropping his head back against the seat. "And, as your protective streak is a mile wide and incredibly obvious to even blind people, he'll use me to push your buttons."

The tension slid out of Steve's own shoulders. "Exactly."

"Which is why Chin and I should go in without you."

Aaand the tension was back. "Danny—"

"He'll use me to push your buttons whether or not I'm there. I'm already annoyed at him for trying to kill you, which means I'm not going to be the calming influence I usually am." Danny's voice was low, almost soft, and he reached over to cover the hand Steve on the gearshift with his own. It was the worst kind of cheating. "Ergo, the best way to handle this is to let _me_ be the crazy one, and have Chin be there to stop me after I punch him a few times."

 Steve stared hard at the road for a moment, trying to see a flaw in the plan. When he couldn't, he blew out a breath. "Fine. But if for some reason he ever escapes prison, I get to kill him."

His partner just looked at him for a long moment, then the corner of his mouth quirked upward. "Fair enough." Danny squeezed his hand, miraculously making the knot inside his chest ease just a little. "For the moment, though, you can distract yourself during the interrogation by being the one to call the Governor and tell him that 5-0's decided to break the fraternization rules, too."

Oh yeah. He'd forgotten about that. "I don't think he'll give us trouble," Steve said, hoping he was right. "If I emphasize the fact that being with you will make me less likely to do something reckless, he might actually encourage it."

For a few seconds, there was no response. "Will it?" Danny asked finally, his voice just a little too careful. "Make you less likely to throw yourself blindly into life-threatening situations, I mean."

Steve glanced over at his partner, the words from this morning still ringing in his head. _It's not your job to break my heart._ "Yeah," he said softly. "I mean, it's not like I'll be able to avoid it completely—"

"Heaven forbid."

"—But I know there's collateral damage now." He caught Danny's fingers in his, holding on. "I don't like it when you get hurt, especially when it's because of me."

"So he still has no self-preservation to speak of, but he'll try to be just a touch less suicidal for my sake," Danny muttered, then gave a long-suffering sigh. "It's insane, but okay. I'll take it."

Steve smiled a little. "Good."


	9. To-do list

Rawlins glared at Danny and Chin the moment they opened the door. “You can’t keep me in here like this.”

“Actually, we can.” Danny shot him his best ‘I’m about five seconds from punching you in the face’ smile. “Not only do we live in a magical land here at 5-0 where we’re allowed to do things like that, but trying to kill a police officer is generally seen as a terrible life choice.”

Rawlins looked annoyed at the reminder. “I wasn’t trying to kill him.” His eyes flicked to Chin, who was standing near the wall with his arms folded across his chest and his best “I will destroy you” face. In some ways, it was more intimidating than Steve’s, though Danny was avoiding actually _saying_ that until Steve was really being annoying.

Now, though, he had other things to worry about. “So you just _happened_ to have an enormous knife in your hand, and you were making stabbing motions for completely unrelated reasons.” Danny mimed the motion for emphasis. “Yes, of course, that all makes perfect sense now. I don’t know what we were thinking.”

Rawlins studied him through narrowed eyes. “Whatever reason you were there, you weren’t after me.”

“That’s because we’re idiots, a problem which you so helpfully solved for us.” Danny’s voice had an edge.  “The knife and DNA you handed over were also a big help. We’ve got you locked down for all three murders, asshole.”

Rawlins’ jaw tightened. “If that’s true, then what are you doing down here talking to me?”

“Well, a part of me just wants to punch you in the face a few times, because it tends to put me in a bad mood when someone tries to kill my partner.”

Something dark moved behind Rawlins eyes. “He doesn’t deserve you. These ignorant locals don’t appreciate the truly exotic creatures that flock to their shores every day.”

Danny nodded as if this made perfect sense. “Yeah, because _everyone_ knows that Jersey is a magical wonderland.”

Rawlins’ glare sharpened. “You don’t see it because you _lived_ there. For you, it’s banal. Common.” He shook his head. “Initially, I’d dismissed you because you’d been here for so long. But you’d worked so hard to retain your uniqueness, the flavor of home, that I let myself want.”

See, this was why he was nice to any profilers he’d ever worked with. They spent the majority of their lives wading through crap like this. “So what, you’re making a collection? All 50 states?”

He made a dismissive noise. “Completionism is a final refuge for someone with no imagination.”

“Fair enough.” Danny made his voice falsely casual. “But maybe your partner was keeping a list.”

Rawlins looked absolutely blank for a moment, than narrowed his eyes again. “What partner?”

Okay, this was promising. “The one you let play on your friend from Texas. Even then, though, you should probably work on your sharing. You wouldn’t even let him use your knife.”

Rawlins made a disgusted noise. “Clearly, you’re as much of a fool as your partner. I never should have even considered you.”

“I’m flattered.” Danny mimed getting a brilliant idea. “Wait, I see why you’re so disappointed in me. _You’re_ the trainee partner, aren’t you? The real killer let you sweat all over the other bodies, but Mr. Texas is the only one you got to even touch. Your boss is still out there.” He held is hands up. “You’re right. I can’t believe we didn’t see it.”

He stepped neatly out of the way of Rawlins’ lunge, which was aborted by the restraints. “They’re _mine_ ,” he hissed. “I saved them from unworthy hands. I wouldn’t have _shared_ them.”

“Prove it.” Danny’s voice was cold. “Where’s the second knife?”

“Under the floorboards in my bedroom. I save it only for _special_ occasions.” He leered at Danny. “I’d planned on using it on _you_.”

“It’s cute you think you would have made it that far.”

Rage blazed in his eyes. “You really think you could have stopped me?”

“We already did, asshole.” He raised his arm in a swing as he stepped forward, the punch connecting solidly enough that it sent Rawlins reeling. “And don’t touch my partner.”

Then he turned, heading for the door. “Come on, Chin. We’re done here.”

000

While Danny and Chin were downstairs, Steve was on the phone with the governor.

“We got confirmation on the DNA match for Rawlins,” He leaned against the edge of his desk as he made his report, too full of restless energy to be able to sit still. He wanted to be downstairs, damn it. “There’s a chance he might have had an accomplice, though. We’re working on that angle now.”

“I need to know the moment you do,” Denning said. “I don’t want to tell the public they’re safe until I’m certain that they are.”

“Understood, sir.” Then he paused, not entirely sure how to phrase this. “On a more personal note, Detective Williams and I are seeing each other now. Romantically.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, and Steve braced himself for a fight. At least, until Denning finally spoke. “I was under the impression the two of you already were romantically involved, Commander McGarrett, and simply hadn’t seen fit to officially inform me.”

That, for the record, was the last response Steve had been expecting. His eyes widened. “No, sir.”

The governor sounded genuinely confused, which somehow made it all that much more embarrassing. “So that call a few weeks ago, when you thought I was Detective Williams….”

Steve closed his eyes, groaning internally at the memory. _Did you forget to tell me how much you missed me?_ And then he’d actually _admitted_ that he’d thought it was Danny.

In retrospect, that probably should have been a clue.

“No, sir,” he repeated, scrubbing his hand across his face. Clearly, he was an idiot. “Not at the time.” 

There was another long pause. “Ah.” Denning sounded faintly amused now. “Well, I presume your change in status won’t make a great deal of difference to your work performance, then.”

Steve sighed. “Probably not.”


	10. Romantic Playbook

"Seriously? Are you sure there wasn't some surprise there you might have missed?" Danny asked, arm close against Steve's as they leaned against the edge of his desk. They'd found the knife, then come back to discover Chin and Kono making off with the paperwork – a belated Valentine's Day present, Kono called it – and trying to usher them out the door.

So, because occasionally his and Steve's stubborn streaks ran in exactly the same direction, they were hanging around the office solely to thwart expectations. And, well ... because it was easier than figuring out what, exactly step two was.

The thing was ... he knew how to make a romantic dinner. And he knew how to make dinner for Steve. But how, exactly, did he go about making a romantic dinner for Steve? They knew most of the other's moves from previous observation, and had the tendency to mock them more than anything. He could cut to the chase and just say that he wanted to drag Steve home and do a thorough exploration of his naked body, but he was pretty sure he couldn't actually make himself say something that sounded like it came out of a really bad porno.

Steve, who thankfully still couldn't hear his internal monologues, shook his head. "I told you, he already thought we were together.” He winced. “I … kind of picked up one of his calls once, thinking it was you.”

"And you answered the phone in a way that made it clear we were sleeping together?"  Danny rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, which still wasn't really thrilled by how he'd spent the night before. “Why didn’t you ever answer the phone like that when I _actually_ called?”

"Apparently, I did." Almost absently, Steve reached over and wrapped his freakishly large hand around the back of Danny's neck. Sliding his fingers around slightly until he found just the right spot, he dug into the disagreeable muscle. "We just kept missing it, somehow.”

Danny didn't really pay much attention to that last bit. In fact, he wasn't paying much attention to anything that didn't have to do with whatever magic Steve was working on the back of his neck, the sensation rising up to overwhelm everything else. He tipped his head back, regretting every second of his life he'd spent not getting massages. Though for all he knew he'd missed nothing, and this was just his partner's magic touch....

Suddenly, Steve's hand went still. It took all of Danny's considerable maturity and restraint not to whine in protest. "What will make you keep going? Flattery? Begging?" He opened his eyes. "Because I can totally...."

The rest of the sentence died in his throat when he saw Steve's face, caught somewhere between flustered and what Danny had only recently started to realize was arousal. "Sorry." Steve swallowed, pulling his hand away. "But you keep making these little ... sounds...."

Arousal swept through Danny, briefly robbing him of his ability to make snappy comebacks.

Steve hesitated, mouth working as he apparently tried to find a word that could suitably describe the noises Danny was making. Then he gave up, scrubbing a hand over his mouth. "I just ... not here. Not the first time." He let out a breath. "I need to do this right with you."

Danny cleared his throat, lust-addled and touched all at the same moment. "How do you feel about candlelight?" he asked, the words falling out of his mouth without bothering to consult his brain first.

Steve just looked confused. "What?"

Danny cleared his throat, trying to put his thoughts in some kind of reasonable order. "I don't ... I'm afraid my romantic playbook isn't going to cut it with you. And you deserve it." His chest caught at the look on Steve's face. "I need to do this right with you, too."

Steve just stared at him, stunned and clearly emotional. Then, slowly, that sun-bright smile came to chase away the clouds. "I don't need romance," he breathed, moving towards Danny with a wonderfully intent look on his face. "I just need you."

Danny reached for him, good sense shouted down by the need to touch, when the universe displayed its usual sense of humor by making Steve's phone ring. They both froze, clearly wrestling with the question of whether or not to let it go to voice mail. When it rang again, Danny took a deep breath and stepped back. Looking gratifyingly disappointed, Steve answered the phone without checking to see who it was. "McGarrett." Then his expression eased. "No, I'm okay. You just..." The glance he shot Danny was scorching. "You just caught me at a bad time."

Danny shifted, trying very hard not to think about the fact that his pants were suddenly too tight. _Mary?_ he mouthed.

Steve shook his head, but he was distracted from further explanation by the person on the other end of the phone. "Yes, I talked to Danny. You were right." His lips curved upward. "He and I worked it out."

So whoever it was knew at least a little about what happened last night. Steve wasn't the chattiest person in the world to begin with, and he'd only had so much time since to talk to people. Which meant that this had to be ....

Shit.

Steve's cheeks flushed. "You could have said something." He met Danny's eyes, mouthing _Why is no one surprised?_ Danny, caught without an answer, focused on trying not to die of embarrassment.

It didn't help matters in the slightest when Steve held the phone out to him. When he backed up a step – he could only imagine what his face looked like – his partner looked exasperated, grabbed his hand, and physically wrapped his fingers around the phone. "I told you, she and I were already over before this morning happened. She's not planning on biting your head off."

"Can I get that in writing?" he muttered, eyeing the phone as if it might try to bite his head off instead of Catherine.

Steve leaned forward, lips less than an inch away from Danny's ear. "Just take the call, Danno," he whispered, making Danny shiver. "We've got someplace we need to be."

"Don't think you're gonna win every argument like that," he managed, sounding only a little strangled as he stepped away and put the phone to his ear. "Hi." He blew out a breath. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, here."

Catherine laughed. "Well, after listening to you two flirt I've already had several of my questions answered. It was almost like watching one of those romantic comedies you two so _love_ to complain about."

Danny closed his eyes. He was pretty sure he'd blushed more in the last twenty minutes than he had in his entire life before this. "Can't you just drive over here and stab me with something?"

Catherine made a tsking noise. "I never realized these violent tendencies of yours, Danny. No wonder you two get along so well."

He made himself exhale. The truth was, she sounded a lot more like Kono than any kind of jealous ex. If he really hadn't broken any hearts, here, he could take anything she could dish out. "It's his fault. He's corrupted me." He pointed at Steve, who was making his ludicrous "I'm completely innocent" face. "No talking."

Catherine laughed again. "I'd offer you tips on Steve-wrangling, but you've always been better at it than I have." Her voice softened. "More than once I've wondered if I should tell you thank you. You've had such an effect on him these last few years."

Danny faltered at that. "Listen, I didn't...."

"Yes, you have." She sounded almost kind, but there was steel under the declaration. "I've never known why the two of you can't see it."

Danny cleared his throat, looking over at Steve. He had his serious face on, clearly picking up on the vibes even though he couldn't hear much of the conversation. "It's hard to see things when you're the one in the middle of it," Danny told Catherine, hoping he was doing the right thing. "Like the way Billy looks at you, for example."

There was a startled silence on the other end of the phone. Steve gave an encouraging nod, moving closer. "I ... that's...." Catherine let out a breath that sounded shaky. "We're just partners."

"You mean like me and Steve?" Danny smiled a little at the continuing silence. Clearly, Billy had more of a chance than he thought. "Sometimes it actually works out, Cath. Think about it."

Finally, she spoke. "I will." He could hear the smile in her voice. "Good luck."

"You, too." Danny ended the call, his own expression easy as he handed the phone to Steve. "You were right. She didn't bite."

"I didn't think she would." His voice was quiet as he put the phone away, eyes never leaving his partner. "You really are a romantic, though, aren't you?"

Danny shrugged. "Hey, when I'm stupidly happy I want the whole world to be stupidly happy with me."

Steve blinked, clearly surprised by something, then his expression melted again. "You're happy?"

Danny couldn't help but grin. "Didn't I just say that? I really think that's what I heard myself say." He pulled Steve down for a kiss, reckless and sloppy and better than a shot of adrenaline to his system, and kept holding on even when they had to break apart for air. "Now, I need to go by the grocery store and pick up a few things, and _you_ are going to go home and change into a shirt that buttons. And then you are going to come to my house, and you are going to get candlelight whether you like it or not."

"I can live with that." Steve smiled, lazy and satisfied. "Should I bring flowers?"

The fact that Danny considered it for even a few seconds made it clear just how much damage kissing his partner had done to his brain cells. "Beer would be better."

"Flowers _and_ beer, then." His expression was soft as he bent down for another kiss, this one slower and sweeter. When they broke apart this time, he stayed temptingly close. “Are you sure you need me in a button-down? Because you know you take _forever_ at the store when you’re going to cook, and I’m really not looking forward to letting you out of arm’s reach for that long.”

It was all too easy to picture what would happen if they attempted a shopping trip together like this, arguments over the importance of cheese interspersed with intense makeout sessions in the produce. The fact that it sounded like fun was probably a bad sign for Danny’s mental stability.

Not yet, though.

“Babe, we should at least tell my daughter we’re together before we hang a big neon sign over our heads.” Danny let all his regret out into his voice as he made himself step away. “And if I go out in public with you right now, that’s not gonna happen.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “Gracie,” he breathed, taking his own step back.  He looked rattled and hopeful all at once, and he had to take a deep breath. “We’re telling her. Together.”

Danny couldn’t even fathom what was going on in Steve’s head right now. “Don’t tell me you thought I’d let you off the hook. After we pick her up from school Monday, all three of us are going to have shaved ice and an awkward conversation about how bees sometimes date other bees.”

Steve’s eyes were still a little too emotional to make sense, but the smirk was familiar.  “I don’t think that’s how the metaphor works, Danno.”

Danny sighed as he pulled him close for another kiss. “I don’t know why I put up with you”


	11. Roses

As Steve stood in front of displays at the Safeway floral shop, he finally understood what Danny had meant about the romantic playbook.

Because, see, he always went with roses. They were pretty much the safest flower option out there – it was rare for women to hate roses, and the few that did usually made it clear before flowers got to be an issue.

And, well ... roses were effective. If you were buying a girl flowers, it was usually for a reason. Either you needed to sweep her off her feet or apologize for something, and roses tended to do the trick in either option. Why mess with something you knew worked?

But this was _Danny_. He was almost positive he'd actually had a conversation with him at some point about how effective roses were – Danny'd had similar results, apparently – and though it might work as a joke that hadn't been what he was going for. He could go native and get him a lei from one of those little roadside stands, but given Danny's complicated relationship with Hawaii that might come across as even more of a joke.

Did Danny even have a favorite flower? Steve was pretty sure he didn't, though there had been that one story about Grace picking him dandelions when she was younger. He was half tempted to go with that option himself – there had to be dandelions in Hawaii, somewhere – but there was probably a rule somewhere about stealing from your little girl's playbook.

"Sir?

Steve jumped at the unexpected voice, turning around to find a smiling young store employee had suddenly materialized at his side. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

She hesitated, her expression making it clear that she knew how badly he was lying and wanted to give him one last chance to save himself. "Are you sure? I can answer any questions you might have."

He looked back at the flowers, considering. Really, he had nothing to lose at this point, and if nothing else this would be an interesting story to tell Danny. "Which one would you surprise your boyfriend with?"

The sales clerk blinked, clearly not having expected that question. She looked back at the arrangements, clearly giving them some serious thought, then pointed at the bouquet of deep red roses. "Those, probably. You really can't go wrong with roses."

Steve closed his eyes, giving in to the chuckle. "Yeah, that's kind of the problem. Thanks."

She looked at him for another long moment, clearly worried. "Are you _sure_ there's nothing I can help you with?"

"I'm fine," he said again, trying to sound more reassuring than he'd managed the first time. She finally accepted the answer and left, still looking mildly distressed, and Steve gave in to the inevitable and pulled out his phone.

Danny picked up on the fourth ring, just before it would have cut to voicemail. "Do not distract me while I'm choosing tomatoes. This is serious business."

Steve grinned, unable to help himself. "It's not hard to pick a tomato, Danny. They all taste the same."

"Heathen." Danny made a disgusted noise, but Steve could hear the smile in his voice. "I should just give you sauce out of a jar. It's not like you would even notice the difference."

"You'll have to teach me, then." Steve's voice softened with affection, fingers already itching with the urge to touch Danny again. He curled them inward, promising himself that he'd surprise Danny in the middle of cooking. "I've kind of run into a problem, though."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone. "If someone is holding a gun on you right now, Steven, I swear to you I will drive to wherever you are right now and shoot both of you myself."

Steve swallowed a chuckle. "Not that kind of problem. I..." He scanned the flower arrangements, then sighed. "I need to know what kind of flowers you like."

There were a few more seconds of silence on the other end of the line, then Danny started laughing. "Roses, huh?"

Steve smiled, relieved. He knew Danny would understand. "Yeah, pretty much." He smiled at an older woman clearly listening in on the conversation, wondering how unusual this really was for the flower department. You'd think that more guys would want to get their significant others' opinion on this sort of thing. "You don't happen to have a favorite flower, do you?"

Danny huffed out an amused breath. "Why would I have a favorite flower? As long as it doesn't smell weird, squirt water, or cost me an arm and a leg, they're all decent looking and die too fast."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He turned around, heading for the row where they kept the Longboards. "I need a second option, then. Beer is definitely not enough for a first date."

"You're really counting this as the first date?" Danny sounded slightly distracted, as if he'd gone back to his tomato selection but hadn't wanted to kick Steve off the phone. "It's hardly the first time we've had a meal together, babe."

Steve glanced around to make sure no kids were in the immediate vicinity, then lowered his voice. "Yeah, but it's the first meal where I'm planning on having _you_ for dessert."

"Your pickup lines are terrible, Steve." Despite the words, Danny's voice was a little rough. "Someone needs to tell you this."

Steve grinned. "Lucky for you, I’ve always been better at doing something than I am talking about it."

This time, there was an actual hesitation on the other end of the phone, and Steve could have sworn he heard Danny swallow. "I hate you."

"You've said that before." Steve let himself picture the fire that must be in Danny's eyes right now, his pulse picking up a little at the very thought. "I don't think I believe you."

Danny cleared his throat. "Chocolates. The good stuff, too – none of that nougat nonsense. Now get off the damn phone so I can get this food bought and you can come over here and put your money where your mouth is."

Steve's pulse sped up even more. "Sounds like a plan."

000

Surprisingly, they didn't have sex the moment Steve walked in the door.

Part of this was because Steve had actually beaten Danny to his house, then had the good sense to meet Danny at the door and help carry in the groceries. Once that was taken care of, Steve pulled him close for a long, slow kiss designed to melt the few brain cells Danny had left after the last four years.

When they broke apart, only far enough that they didn't have to let go of each other, Steve smiled at him. "Hi, honey," he murmured. "I'm home."

"And how long have you been waiting to use that line?" Danny asked, flatly refusing to let himself melt that easily.

Steve leaned in close again, forehead resting against Danny's. "Haven't had a reason to, before," he said softly.

Danny closed his eyes, lost. "Just for that," he breathed. "You're going to have to wait on dinner."

"I have no problem with that," Steve managed, just before Danny pulled him down for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, but the rating isn't going any higher than it is right now. Didn't want you to get your hopes up.


	12. Morning Light

The alarm hadn’t been set, but after years in the Navy Steve didn’t really need one. His body had been trained to be up and moving around dawn, and since it was an efficient way to begin the day he had seen no reason to change the habit.

He was pretty sure he’d found one.

Steve smiled at the thought, enjoying the warm weight of his partner sprawled across him as he opened his eyes to the pale half-light of morning. The shades were drawn – Danny wasn’t a big fan of sunlight – but he didn’t need to look at the clock to know his routine normally had him out in the water by now. Though that wasn’t an option here, he’d swapped his swim out for a morning run before. He even had his gym bag in the truck.

Instead, Steve slid his fingers through Danny’s messy hair, a pleasure he already knew he’d never be allowed during the day, and let himself just enjoy the moment.  He’d never thought of himself as much of a cuddler – it was always a prelude, in his mind – but he liked Danny pressed up against him like this. On top of him, almost – Danny’s head was on his shoulder, arm and leg thrown across him possessively as if trying to stop him from going anywhere.

Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on that last part. Steve shifted enough to rub his cheek against his partner’s hair, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing.  He let himself imagine waking up to this every morning, to be so constantly surrounded in Danny Williams’ affection that he forgot what it was like to be without it. To have it be as much a part of him as the oxygen in his cells, as vital to life and fatal when it was gone….

“Shouldn’t you be out conquering nature or something?”

Steve’s smile returned at the sound of Danny’s sleepy mumble. “Not as much nature around here. _Someone_ didn’t have the good sense to pick a house near the ocean.”

“See, that’s the problem right there. We have opposite definitions of good sense.” Danny shifted so that his chin rested on his hand, a move that actually meant that more of him was pinning Steve to the bed. The man in question approved wholeheartedly. “But still. I thought you ran when you couldn’t swim.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You kicking me out of bed, Williams?”

Danny gave him a ‘don’t be an idiot’ look, moving up to capture his mouth in a kiss that started Steve’s body revving like a finely-tuned engine. Steve rode the buzz of it, pulling Danny fully on top of him as he let himself fall into it. They’d gone through most of the moves they’d had any confidence in a few times through last night – with a break for dinner – to make sure they had them down properly, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be happy to try them all again. And again, and again….

Danny broke the kiss, grinning down at him. “I should have known you’d go from zero to ninety in two-point-nothing seconds.”

“Only when I’m properly motivated.” He palmed Danny's ass, just because he was allowed to. "I take it I can stay?"

Danny's expression softened. "You really think I'm letting you go anywhere?" He rubbed his cheek against Steve's, scratchy and strange and somehow exactly right. "But you'll get twitchy at some point if you don't feel like you can start your day with the SuperSEAL routine you like so much. I'm gonna be waking up with you every morning, which means I might as well get used to...." The words trailed off as Danny's brow lowered, probably at the realization that Steve had stopped breathing. "What?"

Staring up at the man who owned his heart, Steve slowly realized that this was going to keep happening. Danny was going to keep tossing out these wonderful, heart-stopping little surprises like they were the most natural things in the world, and Steve was going to keep being stunned by each and every one of them.

He felt the corners of his mouth curve up. "'Every morning?'"

Danny froze, as if he'd only just realized what he said, and Steve braced himself to brush it off or joke about it without betraying anything. But then Danny's brow lowered in an almost-glare, and Steve realized he was bracing himself, too. "That's what I'd planned on. You have a problem with that?"

So this is what they meant when they talked about your heart threatening to burst out of your chest. "No." Steve's throat was tight as he pulled Danny down for another kiss. "No problem at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come check out my original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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